A Guide to the Municipal & School Board Election

Early voting for the Denton Municipal Election began April 23 and will continue through May 1. If you haven't voted just yet and are still scoping out the candidates, or aren't sure who is exactly running, we have created a guide which may hopefully be of use before voting day next Saturday , May 5. There are two at-large positions on city council along with the seat for Mayor, which can be voted on by any Denton resident regardless of which district they reside in. Consider reading up on these candidates and voting. See you at the polls!

***All registered voters can turn in their ballots at the Denton Civic Center during the early voting period (April 23-May 1), but those voting on election day (May 5) should make sure to look up their precinct number and vote at the location for that precinct. Visit www.votedenton.com to be sure you're heading to the correct poll.***

Voting Day Location & Times

Municipal Election

At Large Place 5

Deb Armintor

Armintor is currently and English professor at UNT at holds a place on the Public Utilities Board after being appointed by current Mayor Pro Tem Sara Bagheri in 2017. This is her second time running for this position after being heavily involved with local "grassroots" politics. She hopes to improve the cost of living and quality of life in town along with strengthening the Ethics Ordinance.

Read more about Armintor's campaign from this profile on her candidacy.

Newquist and his wife Jessie co-own Keystone Independent LLC, a virtual assistance firm for real estate brokers and agents. Newquist's campaign is focused around Denton's prosperity and growth in business. He is also the Vice President Commercial Lending Officer for Independent Bank’s Denton region and says this has given him valuable financial experience to bring into city council. His major goals surrounding local business also include bringing in higher paying jobs.

Vicars served on the City of Denton’s Human Services Advisory Committee for 7 years and currently serves on the Community Development Advisory Committee. She is a licensed master social worker and wants to bring the spirit of social work to City Council. She wants to listen and advocate for all people in order to make everyone's voice a part of local government. She has a specific interest in human service programs which include helping with homelessness and human trafficking.

Follow Jodi Vicars-Nance's Facebook page for more information on her candidacy.

Bernard "Bud" Vokoun

Vokoun recently retired from his Traffic Engineer position with the City of Denton. At the recent municipal candidate forum at Dan's Silverleaf on April 16, Vokoun said his main focus will be to improve the infrastructure in town. Because of his 14 years experience as a traffic engineer for Denton, he feels he has the skills to really make strides in the infrastructure. He is also is large proponent for more transparency specifically with the Ethics Ordinance. No Facebook page or website was found for his candidacy.

At Large Place 6

Paul Meltzer

Meltzer is an active person around town being on the board of a plethora of organizations aroun Denton. He is the vice president of Thin Line Fest which just had its run last weekend along with being a part of the Denton County Monument Advisory Committee which recently made decisions on the future of the monument on the Square. Last May, he was involved in a runoff for the District 3 seat in City Council which he ultimately lost to Don Duff. His campaign did make strides and now he is vying for Place 6 with a similar invigorated approach to smart growth, fiscal discipline, and community consensus. He has over 30 years of experience as corporate executive which he believes will help him oversee the City Auditor and City Manager.

In his 17 years in town, Dudowicz has seen Denton and the business industry in town grow. He and his family own four Kwik Kar locations in Denton, and he believes his local business knowledge to be an asset to council. Along with his Kwik Kar spots, he has also been a former marketing executive with Scott Paper, Campbell Soup Co, and Quaker State. He is also a part of a series of community organizations and boards ranging from The Planning and Zoning Commission, Greater Denton Arts Council and Our Daily Bread. He wants to focus on managing the growth of Denton strategically, infrastructure, and ensuring police and fire departments have ample resources.

Menelas, a logisitcs employee at Walmart, filed for the seat in February but has had a quiet campaign with only one forum attendance. It's unclear on if he's still actively involved in the race.

For more information on At Large Place 6 race read this article from the Denton Record-Chronicle.

Mayor of Denton

Chris Watts

Watts is currently serving his second term as mayor of Denton to which he was initially elected in 2014. Before serving as mayor he served three terms representing district 3. For 20 years, he has owned and operated his own real estate firm. During his time on council and as mayor, Watts has been assigned to several committees. Watts has also been in office during an influx of growth in Denton and has worked for improvements in the City of Denton Development Review. His tenure has seen the hiring of a new city manager, city attorney and internal auditor. If re-elected he strives to continue "effectively" managing citizen tax dollars, complete programs from 2012 and 2014 bond programs and implement the 100 percent renewable plan.

Read more about Mayor Chris Watts' accomplishments and future goals on his website.

Neil Durrance

Durrance previously served two terms on city council and ran for mayor back in 2012 to which he lost to incumbent Mayor Mark Burroughs. Durrance is an attorney by day and his candidacy is pushing for more transparency in city hall. He believes Watts has been "stonewalling" on the Ethics Ordinance and wants to see it go further. If elected, he wants his time to center around transparency, fixing Denton roads, lowering city debt and fixing the gas plant.